Carol Browner

Carol Martha Browner (born December 16, 1955) is an American lawyer, environmentalist and businesswoman who served as director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011.She took the lead within the administration in defending existing environmental laws and budgets and was the driving force behind a stringent tightening of air quality standards that led to a prolonged political and legal battle.Her efforts towards getting comprehensive climate and energy legislation passed in Congress came to no avail, but she assumed a prominent role in the federal government's response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill during 2010.[15] She pleased environmentalists by persuading Chiles, who had become governor, to negotiate a settlement to a federal lawsuit regarding damage to Everglades National Park and forcing the Florida sugar industry to bear much of the $1 billion cost.[5] The head of Florida's largest business trade association described dealing with Browner: "She kicks the door open, throws in a hand grenade, and then walks in to shoot who's left.[22] At her confirmation hearings before the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Browner came across as pragmatic and allayed fears that she would be excessively influenced by or tied to Gore.[25] Browner found criticism from both sides of environmental issues[13] and battled many environmentalists, who objected to her support for repeal of the 1958 Delaney clause regarding permissible levels of carcinogens in foods.[31] During the budget-cutting negotiations surrounding the federal government shutdown in 1995, Browner successfully protected the EPA's review and enforcement powers and managed to gain over $750 million in increased spending for the agency.[32] Two initiatives begun by the Clinton administration under Browner's tenure were part of its "reinventing government" program and sought to realize the notion of environmental contracts as a way of expanding the EPA's flexible public-private partnerships, as an alternative to traditional regulation.[38] The program helped facilitate cleanups of brownfield lands and their contaminated facilities, especially in urban areas, by empowering states, communities, and assorted stakeholders in economic development.[38] It leveraged more than $1 billion in public and private funds for cleanups and created thousands of new jobs, while enabling hundreds of communities to bring idle properties back into productive use.[41] There was a long and fierce internal discussion within the administration, with opposition from the president's economic advisers echoing strong objections from some industry groups who said the costs of the new standards would far outweigh any benefits[39] and that Browner had exaggerated the degree of certainty behind the EPA's scientific reviews on the matter.[32][42] Over eighty environmental and health groups, who had grown quite frustrated with the administration's preference for minimal-cost incremental actions in the area, pressured Vice President Gore to take a stand on the matter, but he remained silent.[30] Browner's adamant defense in favor of the new standards was conducted almost single-handedly, in private meetings, Congressional testimony, and public debate,[32] and had come in the face of a silence from the White House that had put at risk her standing within the administration."[39] The change to the standards had to survive Congressional review, but the support of Republicans from the northeast, especially New York Senator Al D'Amato, helped compensate for Democrats opposed to them.[47] Congressional dissatisfaction with the situation and the EPA's treatment of Coleman-Adebayo led to passage of the No-FEAR Act in 2002, which prohibits federal managers and supervisors from engaging in unlawful discrimination and retaliation.[50] During her EPA tenure, Browner became unpopular with a number of industry groups, especially utilities and heavy manufacturing, as well as with conservatives in Congress, who thought businesses were stifled by her policies.[54] Robert W. Collin, author of a 2005 text on the agency, assessed her as "one of the ablest administrators ever to lead the EPA", and wrote that she was "completely fearless in her engagement with controversial environmental issues".[77][78] She was a central player in negotiation with Congress of the United States Carbon Cap and Trade Program, seemingly more so than U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu,[51][75] and continued to stress its importance despite the Obama health care plan being the top legislative priority overall.[71] In October 2009, Browner conceded that congressional passage of the cap-and-trade legislation before the end of the year was unlikely, and feared its absence would harm prospects for meaningful international agreement at the Copenhagen United Nations Climate Change Conference in December."[86] Mike Allen of Politico later wrote, "[Browner's] calm, authoritative television presence during the BP oil disaster made her one of the few officials whose stature was enhanced in the aftermath of the Gulf catastrophe."[87] With Republicans taking over the House of Representatives following the 2010 midterm elections, chances of climate and energy legislation passing that embodied Browner's and the administration's goals were essentially nil, and Obama conceded as much.[78][80][87] As the Obama administration neared its two-year mark and a number of personnel changes were underway, there was a possibility that Browner might be named to another position with broader responsibilities, such as White House Deputy Chief of Staff.[80] League of Conservation Voters president Gene Karpinski characterized Browner as a "tenacious advocate on our issues" who would be "sorely missed", while a member of the law and energy industry lobbying firm Bracewell & Giuliani said Browner's exit was a good development and that "Her departure may be part of a legitimate effort to pay careful attention to addressing some of the real regulatory obstacles in the way of job creation in the United States.[90] In late February 2011, while Browner was still in place, the House voted to eliminate the Director of the Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy position altogether.[96][97] She continued to speak publicly on environmental issues and indicated she was "disappointed" by the Obama administration's September 2011 decision to drop toughening of low-altitude ozone levels in the National Ambient Air Quality Standards."[103] She has acknowledged that looking at herself twenty years earlier, she would "probably not be pro-nuclear", but said, "I think climate change is the biggest problem the world has ever faced" and it would simply be "irresponsible" not to consider nuclear energy as part of the solution.She was especially concerned that reversing budget cuts would be difficult and that a successful full repeal of the second-term Obama administration's Clean Power Plan could set back an effort to resume combating human-caused global warming some "20 to 30 years".[110] In 2000, she received the American Lung Association's President's Award for leadership towards "the toughest action in a generation to safeguard public health from the threats posed by air pollution.
Carol Browner as EPA Administrator
A black and white image of a pale-skinned woman in her early forties, with fairly dark hair with a swept hairdo covering part of her ears, smiling, wearing solid metal earrings and a metal chain necklace and a dark top.
Carol Browner, c. 1996
A group of eight middle-aged people surround the open back of a pickup truck that is carrying orange traffic cones and white food containers. The scene is next to a body of water and some trees and a telephone pole, on a blue sky sunny day. Three people are most prominent. One man is dressed in blue pants, and orange T-shirt from a hazardous materials team, and a blue and orange baseball cap. Another man is pointing at an unseen object, and is wearing blue jeans and a dark blue shirt, and has an air of authority about him. A woman is standing next to that man, listening. She is wearing black pants, a white shirt, and has brown hair cut above and down behind the ear and is wearing a thin black wristwatch.
FEMA head James Lee Witt and Administrator Browner worked with a HazMat team in Kinston, North Carolina during September 1999, in the wake of severe flooding from Hurricane Floyd .
A pale-skinned woman in her early fifties is sitting behind a brown table, speaking, with a microphone and a pitcher of water. She has brown hair around the ear down to her shoulder, and is wearing a salmon-colored suit jacket with a double-strand of some kind of necklace. A balding, middle-aged man and a stack of some papers can be seen behind her.
Browner testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in April 2007
A pale-skinned man in his sixties with white hair, a pale-skinned woman in her fifties with light brown hair, and a brown-skinned man in his forties with dark hair, all stand in front of a blue drape backdrop with two American flags. Both men are wearing dark business suits with white shirts and ties, one blue, one red; the woman is wearing a light beige suit jacket. The woman is behind a brown podium with a blue and white sign saying "Office of the President Elect" and two black microphones. All three are looking serious and both of the men have their hands folded in front of them.
Browner spoke after President-elect Barack Obama announced her appointment as an advisor on December 15, 2008. Vice President-elect Joe Biden looks on.
A pale-skinned woman in her fifties is sitting on a beige sofa in a large room with a window, a painting, and a bureau visible in the background. She has straight, tan-brown hair over her ears and down to her shoulder and is wearing a brown suit with a pale blue bracelet. She is gesturing with her hands and has a pen and a tablet of paper next to her. To one side of her is a light-brown-skinned woman in her fifties with brown hair, wearing a light-and-dark-grey suit and looking at the first woman. She is holding a pen and a writing pad is next to her as well. On the other side of the first woman is the out-of-focus image of the back of the head and shoulders and arm of a brown-skinned man with dark hair. He is looking at the first woman and holding his right hand to his temple, as if in pain or concentration.
Browner briefed President Obama and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett on the BP oil spill on June 1, 2010.
Browner speaking at forum on hydraulic fracturing in November 2010
Office of Energy and Climate Change PolicyBarack ObamaHeather ZichalAdministrator of the Environmental Protection AgencyBill ClintonWilliam K. ReillyChristine Todd WhitmanDemocraticMichael PodhorzerThomas DowneyUniversity of FloridalawyerenvironmentalistbusinesswomanWhite House Office of Energy and Climate Change PolicyObama administrationClinton administrationAlbright Stonebridge GroupFloridaUniversity of Florida College of LawFlorida House of RepresentativesCitizen ActionLawton ChilesAl GoreFlorida Department of Environmental Regulationenvironmental lawsair qualityAlbright GroupAlbright Capital ManagementEnergy Czarclimate and energyBP Deepwater Horizon oil spillglobal warmingMiami, FloridaMiami Dade Community CollegeSouth MiamiEvergladesWashington, D.C.Takoma Park, MarylandBig Cypress National Preserveoffshore drillingFlorida KeysSenate Committee on Energy and Natural ResourcesClean Air ActTallahasseeWalt Disney WorldEverglades National Park1992 presidential electionEnvironmental Protection AgencyGeorge H. W. Bush administrationThe Washington PostUnited States Senate Committee on Environment and Public WorksUnited States SenateNannygateSteven HermanOffice of Enforcement and Compliance AssuranceDelaney clause1993 Clinton health care planRepublican Party1994 U.S. electionsClean Water ActSafe Drinking Water ActFood Quality Protection Actfederal government shutdown in 1995"reinventing government" programenvironmental contractsenvironmental justiceprintingmetal finishing and platingHouse Government Reform and Oversight18 U.S. Codebrownfield landsNational Ambient Air Quality Standardsground-level ozoneparticulate matterThe New York TimesJames Lee WittHazMat teamKinston, North CarolinaHurricane FloydAl D'AmatoU.S. Constitution's nondelegation principleU.S. Supreme CourtWhitman v. American Trucking Associations, Inc.light truckssport utility vehiclessulfurgasolineGeorge W. Bush administrationMarsha Coleman-AdebayoNo-FEAR ActD.C. District JudgeRoyce C. LamberthFreedom of Information ActconservativesTreasury DepartmentU.S. Secretary of StateMadeleine AlbrightCoca-ColaMerck & Co.Fredric G. Levin College of LawRiverhead, New YorkDubai Ports WorldCharles SchumerDubai Ports World controversyU.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public WorksNational Audubon SocietyAlliance for Climate Protectioncarbon offsetsCDM Gold StandardCenter for American ProgressLeague of Conservation VotersSocialist InternationalCommission for a Sustainable World Society2008 presidential electionHillary ClintonJoe BidenObama-Biden Transition ProjectJohn KerryUnited States emission standardsPresidential Task Force on the Auto IndustryAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009United States Carbon Cap and Trade ProgramU.S. Energy SecretarySteven ChuObama health care planGlenn BeckVan JonesValerie JarrettBP oil spillCopenhagen United Nations Climate Change ConferenceThe Rolling Stonesmost well-known songsGulf of MexicoMike AllenPoliticohydraulic fracturing2010 midterm electionsWhite House Deputy Chief of StaffGene KarpinskiBracewell & GiulianiU.S. Domestic Policy CouncilSteve Scalisemid-April 2011 federal spending agreementsigning statementBunge LimitedOpowerGlobal Ocean Commissioncombat climate changeScott PruittClean Power PlanAndrew R. WheelerGreen New DealCovington & BurlingESG-related concernsGlamourNew York State Bar AssociationHammer AwardAmerican Lung AssociationList of U.S. executive branch czarsNewsdayAssociated PressThe Christian Science MonitorBusiness WireOffice of the President-ElectLawrence Journal-WorldUSA WeekendIfill, GwenSouth Florida Sun-SentinelMilwaukee Journal SentinelNewsHourThe Washington TimesUniversity of California, San FranciscoGreenhouse, LindaDeseret NewsNewsweekPublic Administration ReviewAmerican Society for Public AdministrationThe Wall Street JournalFox NewsChicago Sun-TimesLos Angeles TimesGreenwireE&E NewsU.S. Department of the TreasuryU.S. Department of Energywhitehouse.govNational ArchivesCNET NewsCBS NewsClimateWireKornblut, Anne E.The GuardianThe HillAll Headline NewsAllen, MikeThe Huffington PostMy LifeAlfred A. KnopfGreenwood Publishing GroupUniversity of Texas PressCurrent Biography Yearbook 1994H. W. Wilson CompanyKluwer Law InternationalHoughton Mifflin Co.C-SPANWilliam ReillyBarack Obama'sExecutive Office of the PresidentWhite House Chief of StaffRahm EmanuelNational Security AdvisorJames L. JonesPete RouseThomas E. DonilonWilliam M. DaleySusan RiceJack LewDeputy National Security AdvisorDenis McDonoughMona SutphenAntony BlinkenNancy-Ann DeParleAvril HainesRob NaborsJohn O. BrennanJim MessinaLisa MonacoAlyssa MastromonacoDouglas LuteAnita Decker BreckenridgeBen RhodesMark B. ChildressMark LippertKristie CanegalloCounselor to the PresidentBrooke D. AndersonJohn PodestaWhite House Communications DirectorEllen MoranSenior Advisor to the PresidentDavid AxelrodAnita DunnDavid PlouffeDaniel PfeifferJennifer PalmieriShailagh MurrayJen PsakiBrian DeeseWhite House Press SecretaryRobert GibbsPublic EngagementTina TchenJay CarneyJosh EarnestBill BurtonIntergovernmental AffairsCecilia MuñozEric SchultzJerry AbramsonStephanie CutterNational Economic CouncilLawrence SummersJon FavreauGene SperlingCody KeenanJeff ZientsMacon PhillipsCouncil of Economic AdvisersChristina RomerAustan GoolsbeePhil SchiliroJason FurmanEconomic Recovery Advisory BoardPaul VolckerKatie Beirne FallonCouncil on Jobs and CompetitivenessJeff ImmeltDomestic Policy CouncilMelody BarnesPatrick GaspardOffice of Faith-Based and Neighborhood PartnershipsJoshua DuBoisDavid SimasMelissa RogersOffice of Health ReformOffice of National AIDS PolicyJeffrey CrowleyWhite House Staff SecretaryLisa BrownOffice of Urban AffairsAdolfo Carrión Jr.Rajesh DeWhite House CounselGreg CraigBob BauerMaju VargheseKathryn RuemmlerNeil EgglestonWhite House Cabinet SecretaryChris LuDanielle C. GrayDavid RecordonBroderick D. JohnsonOffice of AdministrationReggie LoveBrian MostellerOffice of Science and Technology PolicyJohn HoldrenOval Office OperationsChief Technology OfficerAneesh ChopraPersonal Secretary to the PresidentKatie JohnsonTodd ParkMegan SmithFerial GovashiriOffice of Management and BudgetPeter R. OrszagChief of Staff to the First LadyJackie NorrisSusan SherSylvia Mathews BurwellWhite House Social SecretaryDesirée RogersJulianna SmootShaun DonovanJeremy BernardChief Information OfficerVivek KundraDeesha DyerSteven VanRoekelChief of Staff to the Vice PresidentRon KlainBruce ReedUnited States Trade RepresentativeRon KirkSteve RicchettiMichael FromanWhite House Chief UsherStephen W. 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